Disclosure
by isajade
Summary: Reid and Emily talk at the BAU office, set after "Lauren". might be a multi-chapter, might be a one shot. Suggested romance but mostly friendship
1. Chapter 1

Disclosure

Reid sighed as he twisted back and forth on the rolling chair at his desk. The team had just gotten back from a case, and was spending the day doing paperwork. Reid had already finished his paperwork, being the genius that he was, and was tremendously 'd offered to help Morgan, who was slightly behind, with his paperwork but had been declined. Morgan was trying to prove to Reid that he could finish his paperwork before Emily, something that Reid seriously doubted.

He found himself watching Emily as she scribbled away on a page of paper, across the table from him. She had recently returned to the BAU after spending a few months living undercover in Paris, hiding from a man named Ian Doyle. He couldn't help but admire the way her charcoal colored hair draped over the page as she tilted her head forward, trying to read something in fine print.

She was wearing a dark grey tee shirt that contrasted beautifully with the smooth alabaster that was her skin. It was a fitted V-neck, and at times slipped rather low down her upper chest. Reid was watching her hands fly across the page, and something caught his eye.

On her upper chest was an upraised mark. It was red, like a brand that was healing into a scar. He was sure Emily had her fair share of scars, but this one caught Reid's eye because he had seen it before. It was the same mark that he'd drawn for the team before Emily had died. It was Ian Doyle's mark. Reid gasped aloud but covered it by coughing. Emily glanced up briefly but looked back down at her stack of papers. She leaned back in her seat, and her shirt shifted to cover the clover mark once again.

Finally, the office clock ticked to 7:00. People began standing up and gathering their belongings, ready to head home after a busy day. Emily began scribbling faster and faster, trying to finish her reports before she was the only one left in the office.

"This is what I get for zoning out half the afternoon," she told herself wearily.

"Need some help with that?" Emily heard Reid's voice ask from across the desk.

"Yes, thanks," she responded gratefully, handing him half the stack. Reid cleared his throat.

"You know, Morgan had a bet with me that he would be able to finish his paperwork before you. Usually you're one of the first to finish, are you ok?" He wanted to ask her if she was ok for a different reason, but didn't quite know how. She probably wouldn't appreciate the intrusion on her personal life.

Emily sighed. "Yeah, I guess I was just distracted… and tired. I've been trying to keep my eyes open the whole day." She glanced up and realized that the office was almost completely empty. Only Strauss was still there. "Wow, I guess everyone's in a hurry to get home today. Usually Hotch is still here when I leave."

"It must be the holiday season," Reid responded. He wondered if Emily ever noticed when he left.

"I'm sorry to keep you here like this," Emily apologized. "Honestly, I'd rather be here than my apartment," said Reid. "It seems like I'm the only person who goes home to an empty apartment every day."

"Don't forget about me," Emily said lightly. "But I guess Sergio counts as a living thing." Reid smiled at the thought of the furry black kitten that resided in Emily's house. It was a playful, cuddly little thing.

"Maybe I should get a kitten," he thought. He was about to voice the thought when Emily said,

"Well, that's my last review. Finally." Truthfully, Emily hadn't minded staying late and talking to Reid. He was one of the people she loved to talk to most, and lately she'd felt shut out by him. He had been mad at her for lying to the team about her death, but Emily thought he'd finally begun to forgive her.

The two stood and slung their bags over the shoulders. At least, Emily slung her bag over her shoulder, while Reid merely lifted his. They walked towards the elevator and rode down to the ground level in silence. The elevator doors dinged open, and the stepped out into the evening air.

Reid brushed his hand against hers as she turned away to walk to her car. She hesitated and looked back at him. Something in his brown eyes broke her heart, and she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. Reid stood there frozen for a second, but relaxed and wrapped his arms around her lower back. He could feel her head resting lightly on his shoulder, and he buried his nose in her hair. Too soon, the hug was over and the smiled at each other, then walked away to their cars. Emily watched as Reid's car peeled away, and was filled with a deep, longing sadness. She didn't know why, but she'd begun to feel like the gentle, geeky genius was someone who she could spend her life with.


	2. Chapter 2

Emily slammed the car door behind her, hurrying towards her house. The cold wind bit at her pale cheeks. She closed her front door behind her and locked it. She was too tired to think of dinner, so she stripped to a tank top and pajama pants, got into bed and immediately fell asleep.

"She's waiting for me," Emily groaned as she struggled to climb the hill. The hill grew steeper and steeper, and her entire body burned as she tried to reach the girl. The young girl was dancing in the sun, her dark hair flying out around her face. The girl morphed into Reid. He was standing in the sun, and Emily couldn't reach him, no matter how hard she tried. He screamed suddenly as a shadowed figure grabbed him, dragging him into the darkness on the other side of the hill.

Reid's scream echoed in Emily's ears as she awoke, gasping for air. The darkness glared at her from empty corners, whispering in her ears. She knew it was childish, but Emily was almost scared to stand. Despite her nervousness, she stood and shuffled out of her room and into the hallway.

The car started slowly as Emily huddled, shivering, in the drivers seat. She drove slowly to Reid's house, with her headlights on high.

Reid banged his head on his pillow, groaning. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fall asleep. He had frequent insomnia, but lately it'd been worse than usual. One of the problems was that as soon as he'd fall asleep, he would be woken up again by his subconscious. The nightmares were normally bearable, but they had gotten worse since Emily's death.

Reid heard a light tap on his door. He wasn't sure if it was someone knocking, or if someone had accidentally bumped into his door. After a few seconds he rolled out of bed and shuffled towards the door. He opened the door and stuck his head into the hallway of his apartment building. Reid wasn't sure if his eyes were tricking him, but he thought he saw Emily just as she disappeared behind the corner. He ran down the hallway, completely forgetting about shoes. He rounded the corner just as the elevator doors closed.

"Crap," cursed Reid. He looked around wildly, and spotted the door to the stairs. He flung it open and sprinted down 7 flights of stairs as fast as he could. He stepped out into the lobby just as the elevator doors dinged open and Emily emerged. "Emily? What are you doing here?" he said in surprise.

"Sorry Reid, I was just leaving," Emily grimaced.

"No, stay," Reid insisted. "I was just worried about you, are you ok?"

"Yeah...just nightmares," sighed Emily. "I was kinda scared to stay at my house but I didn't know where to go. When I got here I realized I'd probably be waking you up."

"No, I was awake," Reid reassured her. He coughed nervously. "Do you want to...uh...come up to my apartment and we can...uh...talk?"

"All right, if you're sure I won't be a bother," Emily smiled.

Reid sighed internally, thinking it was more likely that he'd be a bother. He pressed the up button on the elevator,

and they stood in silence for a few seconds waiting for it to open. The doors slid open and unveiled a couple passionately making out. They didn't seem to notice that the elevator had opened, and Reid coughed awkwardly. Emily kept a professional face but it was all she could do to keep from bursting into laughter at the look on Reid's face. The woman pulled back for some air and realized that the elevator had opened, she slid down from where she was straddling her husband against the wall with an embarrassed look on her face. Reid and Emily stepped into the elevator and managed to keep straight expressions on their faces until the doors slid shut again, where they promptly burst into laughter.


End file.
